Sphingosine kinase 1 and 2 regulate the capacity of mesangial cells to resist apoptotic stimuli in an opposing manner

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Abstract
Sphingosine kinases (SKs) are key enzymes regulating the production of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), which determines important cell responses including cell growth and death. Here we show that renal mesangial cells isolated from wild-type, SK-1-/-, and SK-2-/- mice show a differential response to apoptotic stimuli. Wild-type mesangial cells responded to staurosporine with increased DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 processing, which was enhanced in SK-1-/- cells. In contrast, SK-2-/- cells were highly resistant to staurosporine-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, the basal phosphorylation and activity of the anti-apoptotic protein kinase B (PKB) and of its substrate Bad were decreased in SK-1-/- but not in SK-2-/- cells. Upon staurosporine treatment, phosphorylation of PKB and Bad decreased in wild-type and SK-1-/- cells, but remained high in SK-2-/- cells. In addition, the anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL was significantly upregulated in SK-2-/- cells, which may further contribute to the protective state of these cells. In summary, our data show that SK-1 and SK-2 have opposite effects on the capacity of mesangial cells to resist apoptotic stimuli. This is due to differential modulation of the PKB/Bad pathway and of Bcl-XL expression. Thus, subtype-selective targeting of SKs will be critical when considering these enzymes as therapeutic targets for the treatment of inflammation or cancer.

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